


Fourth Grade

by CaliKayeTylers



Series: For Life [1]
Category: the GazettE (Band)
Genre: Elementary School, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22018780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaliKayeTylers/pseuds/CaliKayeTylers
Summary: Akira is moving to a new school and he's nervous about making new friends. Fortunately one of the students is in desperate need of a friend.
Series: For Life [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584853
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	Fourth Grade

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! So this is a fic I've been wanting to write for a long time now. I started it at one point as an RP with Toguro(Ao3). She is such a wonderful writer, but I am horrible with keeping up with RPs. So I've rewritten this by myself, but a few of the ideas are still from her.

His mother's voice traveled down the hallway clear as a bell; urging him to  _ wake up or we'll be late.  _ Akira didn't care. He'd happily be late if it was up to him, but for her, he would kick off the covers and get dressed. 

“I’m awake mama!” He called from his room and heard her walking back into the kitchen. Akira got out of bed with no eagerness and went about his morning routine. Once he was ready for school, he grabbed his new backpack and joined his mother in the kitchen. She was already dressed for work, a sharp suit with her long hair up in a twist that always made Akira think she looked like a queen. His mother worked for television, creating the ideas behind commercials. Her job was in one of the giant buildings that he had to bend backward to see the top of. Akira remembered his father hadn’t liked the idea of his mother working a salaryman’s job, but she had been headstrong and kept it anyway. 

Who cared what his father thought. He wasn’t a part of their lives anymore. Akira felt that angry feeling boiling back up in his stomach. He could clearly remember the day that bastard had left them. His mother had thrown all of his clothes out the front door and locked it behind her. Apparently, from what he was able to understand, his father had been seeing another woman even though he was married, and his mother had not put up with that. Akira had been so proud of her even though he hadn’t really understood the magnitude of the situation. 

Soon after his father had left, his mother had informed him that she couldn’t afford their house alone. She’d always been very open with him and tried to explain things in an adult way that he could understand, and Akira did. He didn’t want to move, but more than that, he didn’t want to cause her any further grief. So he’d taken the boxes she’d brought home and started packing away everything in his room. They moved from a house on the edge of the Yokohama to an apartment in the inner city. It was half the size of their house, but they didn’t need much room. Akira didn’t mind living in the city proper, but he wasn’t excited about switching schools. He was worried about making new friends and about his teachers. The new school was bigger and had more kids. He’d either have an easy time making friends or everyone would ignore him. 

Taking a seat at their small table Akira thanked his mother as she sat down a bowl of rice and veggies. He wanted to stuck his tongue out at the little pieces of broccoli but knew she had taken the time to cook him breakfast so he would eat it without fuss. 

"I know you aren't a fan of veggies but I wanted to let you sleep a bit longer so breakfast was a bit rushed. So be a good boy and eat them up for me okay? I'm going to grab our coats." His mother said, ruffling his hair before heading to the closet. 

As always, Akira ate everything in his bowl, showing it to his mother before going to the sink to wash his dishes. He’d just dried them and put them away when she came over with his coat. Switching schools in the middle of the year sucked because it was so cold you really couldn’t even go outside and play. Akira hoped the sun would be out enough that they’d be allowed outside for recess. 

He held his mother’s hand as they waited for the bus, and snuggled up against her on the ride towards the school. Every mile they got closer, the more his heart would beat faster. Nerves were getting the better of him and for the first time since his father had left, Akira actually feared he wouldn’t be able to hold back his tears. His mother must have noticed, laying a hand against his cheek. 

“I know this is scary Akira. You don’t have to pretend you’re not nervous. You’ve been such a good boy through all of this mess and I could not ask for a better son, but baby, you’re still only ten years old. You’re allowed to be afraid.” She said, pulling him close and kissing the top of his head. Akira knew her words were true, but he couldn’t allow himself to show it. He was the only boy in their house now; he needed to be strong for her. So he held on to her, letting himself relax a little before they pulled up in front of the school gates. 

There were a few kids running around the front, a couple teachers standing guard, but most of them paid him no attention as he walked hand in hand with his mother into the school building. They were supposed to meet with his new principal before his mother would head for work and he would be shown his new classroom. The principal was a tall man with short black hair. He didn’t look much older than his mother, but talked like he was already a grandpa. He was nice enough though and made Akira feel more confident about how his day would go. His mother kissed his cheek and hugged him goodbye and only once did he want to call her back and demand to be taken home. Instead, he took the principal’s hand and walked down the hallway with him. 

“You’ll be in class 4-B. Your teacher’s name is Miss Choi. She’s already looking forward to having you join her class, Akira. I know this is a big change for you, so anytime you get frustrated or overwhelmed, you can talk to her, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Akira replied, his voice wavering despite his attempt to keep calm. 

"Such a polite young man. Your mother must be so proud of you. Here we are." 

They stopped in front of the door to his new class. Akira could hear kids talking and laughing on the other side of the door, but he was still so nervous. Miss Choi was a short, but bright woman. Her hair was cut short, and brushed her cheeks when she moved. Akira liked her on sight. For some reason she reminded him of his mother, kind but he had a feeling she could be stern too. 

As the principal spoke to his new teacher, Akira glanced around the busy room. Most of the kids were paired off in twos or threes, speaking animatedly to one another. They would look at Akira for only a moment before turning back to their friends. All the same except for one kid in the middle. He hadn't looked up from the notebook be was sketching in; seemingly unphased by having a new student come into class. His mother had taught him not to judge people from what they looked like but Akira knew even his mother would have made that disapproving face at the kid's hair. It was past his shoulders! What boy wanted girl's hair like that? 

Akira absentmindedly ran a hand through his own short hair. His mother would never have allowed him to grow his hair like that, even if he’d wanted to. The long haired kid was lanky too, like his legs and arms were too long for his body, and those lips were too big for his face. He looked like a cross between an alien and a duck. The thought had Akira coughing so he wouldn’t laugh at the picture in his head. He was sure now that he didn’t want to be friends with the weird kid. The only thing he wanted was to fit in, and there were plenty of other kids, it shouldn’t be a problem. There was even a group of boys near the back that had a soccer ball on the floor beside their desks. Did they play? Maybe Akira could ask them to let him join. Once they saw how good he was they’d definitely want to be friends with him, right? 

“Akira, why don’t you go have a seat. There’s an empty spot right there next to Kouyou.” Miss Choi told him, pointing to the desk next to the lanky weird kid and Akira had to force himself not to groan aloud. 

_ Why me? Why do I have to sit next to the weird kid?  _

And this  _ Kouyou _ still hadn't even bothered to look up to notice they had a new student. 

"Yes, Miss Choi." He mumbled, leaving her side to take his new seat. The second he was sat down the duck kid's head turned, dark eyes boring into the side of his face. Akira tried to ignore it, he really did, but that gaze was too heavy.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked, keeping his voice low, his own eyes down. Maybe if he'd looked up Akira would have seen the finger come across the space between them and poke at his cheek. Instead he just flinched away in horror, his eyes wide, staring at that long finger hanging in the air. "Why did you poke me?!"

"You have monkey cheeks. I had to poke them." A voice deeper than he'd expected from a child came from those too big lips and Akira knew he was sneering now. 

"Are you calling me a monkey?" This kid didn't have the right to call anyone names with lips like that. 

Kouyou grinned at him. "I am. You look just like a monkey."

"Don't call me a monkey when you look like a cross between a giraffe and a duck." He spat back. Akira had never called other kids names before but this Kouyou was outright picking on him. 

The other boy's eyes went wide as saucers but he didn't respond, only ducked his head and started sketching again, but Akira could see he was sniffing now. Had he really already made a kid cry? Something in his chest tightened painfully as he caught sight of Kouyou's bottom lip trembling. 

"Wait. I'm sorry. I shouldn't ha-"

"Alright class, settle down." Miss Choi interrupted him. Everyone turned to sit straight in their seats so Akira did as well. He would have to wait to apologize better until recess. "I'd like to introduce you all to our new student. Akira, could you stand up and say hello?"

Akira did as he was asked, even of his legs were a bit shaky. He quickly bowed to the rest of his class and said a stuttered hello that came out more as a whisper before sitting back down. He could tell his teacher had been expecting more, but she only smiled and began to start their history work. 

Only a few minutes later a piece of paper was laid on his desk, messy handwriting across the top of it and a little soccer ball drawn on the side. 

**_I'm sorry too. You're a cute monkey, not a bad one._ **

Akira chuckled. He guessed that was good enough. For some reason he didn't understand, Akira reached out while Miss Choi's back was turned and poked Kouyou's cheek. The taller boy just turned and gave him a cheesy grin. They'd be okay now. 

Between English and Maths they had a small break where they were allowed to talk and Akira turned and leaned over Kouyou’s paper to see what he was doodling since he hadn’t been paying much attention to their lessons. His paper was covered with soccer balls and different looking guitars. He’d drawn a drum set too. 

“Do you play soccer?” He asked, pointing to the drawings. 

Kouyou nodded, a wide smile on his face. “I sure do. I’m the bestest player at this school!”

Akira rolled his eyes. “Uh huh. Well you might have been, but now I’m here so you’re not the best anymore.” He teased. He didn’t understand this compulsion he had to tease and provoke the other boy but it seemed to be all he could do.

“Ha! That’s what you think. Just because you were good at your other school that doesn’t mean you’re good here. Why don’t we have a match at recess? If I win, I get to call you Monkey for the rest of the year.”

“And if I win?”

“Then you can tell everyone you’re the bestest, and that you beat me.”

He nodded. “Sounds like a deal. I hope you like being beat.”

Kouyou made a huffing noise under his breath and went back to his doodles. For a moment Akira felt uneasy about their bet, but really, how good could Kouyou be on those baby horse legs anyway?

_______________________________________

It was still cold outside, but the teacher let them go out for recess anyway. Akira stared at the small field the school used for soccer with obvious disdain. It was like half the size of the field at his old school and the grass that had been laid over the dirt was missing in places. Well they only needed half a field to play this match anyway. Kouyou went over to the ball hopper and pulled out a blue soccer ball. 

“How about the first one to score five goals wins?” He said, bouncing the ball on his knees. Maybe he was more coordinated than Akira imagined. 

“Alright. Sounds easy. I’ll run circles around you.” 

Kouyou was...really good, and Akira was in fact having a hard time keeping up. The taller boy was up on his by two points and about to make a third when another ball came out of nowhere, hitting Kouyou almost straight in the face. Akira watched, horrified, as the boy’s feet came out from under him and he landed in the dirt. He could see blood on his lower lip despite the hands reflexively coming up to cover his face. 

“It works better if you catch with your hands instead of your face, huh Takashima?” 

Akira’s head snapped around to a group of three boys that were walking onto the field. The same boys he’d seen with the soccer ball beside their desk. What the hell were they doing? He didn't care to ask, running over to Kouyou's side and kneeling down. 

"Don't bother with him, new kid. If you want to play with someone good then join us in a game. The 'bestest' player can sit this one out." One of the boys said, kicking dirt at Kouyou's head. 

"Stop it!" He yelled, standing up to meet them eye to eye. "There's plenty of room, go play on the other end of the field."

The tallest of the three spoke up then. "You're gonna defend the freakin duck? You're only hurting yourself new kid. He's not worth your time. Belongs in a circus." He laughed and Akira could feel heat flaring up in his stomach, an anger he was all too familiar with. "Actually, not even the circus would take hi- What the heck?!"

The boy stumbled back, clutching his nose where Akira had just punched the hell out of him. The other kids flanking him looked afraid for a moment before they jumped on Akira, pushing him to the ground, but he didn't go down without a fight, punching and kicking, even biting where he could. He could hear Kouyou's scared voice screaming for help; he was crying, Akira could hear it in his tone. 

Just before Akira was afraid he really was going to lose, the two boys were being pulled off of him and he caught sight of the one he'd punched first being pulled off of Kouyou who was back on the ground, his face covered in blood. He panicked, crawling towards the hurt boy, but he too was picked up off the ground. Another teacher picked Kouyou up in their arms and carried him off. 

"Just settle down. He's being taken to the nurse and so are you. Don't worry." The teacher holding him up said. "Come along. We'll follow."

Akira didn’t argue, allowing the teacher to take him to the nurse’s office where the other three boys were sat on one side of the room while Kouyou was on the other. A curtain divided the room and Akira was led to sit on the bed with Kouyou. The taller boy’s face was a mess of blood and dirt streaked with tears, but his eyes lit up when he noticed Akira beside him. 

“Akira...I-”

“Shhh Kou. It’s okay. Don’t cry anymore.” He said, reaching out to put a hand on the other’s dirty sleeve. “Can you tell me if they’ve treated you like this before? You don’t have to answer, just nod.”

Kouyou’s eyes shone with unshed tears and his head slowly nodded. Akira felt sick. No one deserved to be treated like this and there was no way he would let those kids pick on Kouyou anymore. The taller boy needed someone to protect him, and Akira was more than willing to do it. 

“How long?” He whispered, keeping his voice low so the other kids on the other side of the room couldn’t hear him. He knew they’d have to talk to the principal sooner or later and he had a feeling Kouyou wasn’t going to be able to speak for himself. 

“Years.” 

That one work left his blood boiling again. They were only in year five. Had Kouyou really been dealing with this all through grade school? 

“Okay. It’s going to stop today Kouyou. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. I promise.” 

Kouyou’s eyes were wide as he stared at him. Akira could tell he wanted to say something, but before he got the chance the nurse came in to clean them up. Kouyou ended up with a busted lip and a black eye. Akira was scratched up pretty bad and had a bite mark on his arm as well as a finger that was something called sprained. 

“Alright. You boys just wait here. The principal is talking to the other boys with their parents. He’ll be in to get you soon.” The nurse said as she left them alone. Akira felt like he was going to be sick. His finger and arm hurt, but not as bad as his stomach. His mother was going to have to leave work early because of him. It was only his first day of school; she was going to be so disappointed in him. The thought brought tears to his eyes and he sat with his shoulders hunched over. A moment later, Kouyou’s bandaged hand slid into his own, squeezing it tight enough Akira knew it had to hurt him. 

“Don’t cry Aki. Please. I’m so sorry you got hurt because of me. You should have just walked away. I’m used to them by now. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.” The taller boy murmured, scooting closer to him. 

Akira shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. I couldn’t have let them bully you like that. They deserved what they got. I wish I could have hurt them more. I’m only worried that my mom is going to be so angry with me. She may have to move me to a different school if the principal doesn’t want me here. I started the fight. Whatever they ask you, Kouyou, you tell them I started it. You don’t need to be in any more trouble.” 

"Akira, no. We have to tell them the other guys started it. I...I will tell the truth. I won't let you take the blame for all of this when you're the first person to ever stand up for me."

"Suzuki? Takashima? Come with me please." They both looked up to see their principal holding the curtain back. "Takashima, can you walk?"

"Yes, sir. I can."

The two boys kept their heads down as they walked to the principal's office. Akira didn't see his mother anywhere yet, but he knew she'd be there soon. As they were led into the room, they were ushered into chairs in front of a wide wooden desk. He and Kouyou sat silently.

“Now I’ve already spoke with the other boys and heard their side of the story. I wanted to give you two a chance to tell yours before bringing your parents in.” The principal said, taking a seat behind the desk. “The others told me that they only wanted to join in a game with the two of you. They said you, Akira, told them to get lost then punched one of them when they asked agai-”

“That’s a lie! All of it!” Akira shouted, coming off his seat to defend himself, but the older man was already holding up a hand for him to be quiet. 

“Akira, there is no history of violence in your school records. Neither is there in Kouyou’s. So  _ calmly  _ explain to me what happened at recess.”

Akira sat back down. “Kouyou and I were playing a match at one end of the field. That kid I punched, he kicked a ball straight into Kouyou’s face. It knocked him down and hurt his lip. They tried to tell me to come play with them instead and kept saying mean things about Kouyou; kicking dirt at him. He told Kou he belonged in a circus! And Kouyou looked so scared. I had to do something. I punched him, but the others ganged up on me. I’m sorry that I started a fight, but I’m not sorry I punched him. Kouyou...tried to get me to let him take the blame, but I won’t let him. He says these kids have been picking on him for a few years now. I won’t stand for that.”

Their principal almost smiled, Akira could tell from the twitch of his lips. "I don't expect you to apologize. Kouyou? Do you have anything to add?"

The taller boy was chewing on his bottom lip like he was trying to eat it right off. It took a few moments but he finally lifted his head. "Last week… Yuuto-" Kouyou paused, sucking in a deep breath and turning to look at him. Akira gave him a smile, urging him to continue. "His friends held me down in the bathroom and Yuuto told me if I tattled on them he'd get cut me up. He cut a chunk of my hair with scissors. My mother fixed it when I went home and I told her I did it."

Akira felt his own face mirroring the shock on the principal's before the man masked his expression. They were ten years old...how did a kid even learn to be so mean?

"Okay Kouyou. I understand why, but I wish you had come to me or your teacher sooner. I will deal with this for you. I don't want you to worry anymore. If anything more happens, please come see me, no matter what time of day. Understand?" He asked and Akira found he liked his new principal. The man seemed to genuinely care for Kouyou's safety. 

“We understand.” They both replied, bowing their heads. 

“Good. I have to talk to your parents now, why don’t you two go ahead back to the nurse’s office?”

Akira took Kouyou’s hand as they crossed the hall into the office and sat back down on the bed. "You were very brave Kouyou. I'm proud of you." He said, squeezing the other boy's hand.

Kouyou genuinely looked surprised. "Thank you for helping. It helped that you were there… Akira, do you think we could be friends? I know the other kids don't like me. I know I'm a freak, but maybe we could try? I'll try my bestest to be more normal."

He looked so hopeful. It broke Akira's heart. 

"You don't have to pretend to be anything Kou. Of course, I'll be your friend. As long as we stick together no one can hurt us, right? I'll take care of you."

Akira could tell Kouyou was about to cry and decided to pull him into a hug. Sure enough, the taller boy's body shook but he cried silently. Akira didn't let him go, even when their parents came into the office. 

Kouyou's father had smiled at him before picking the taller boy up from the bed. Akira hadn't even noticed he'd fallen asleep. His mother, a tall, thin woman had laid a hand on his shoulder and thanked him for being there for her son. Akira's own mother was the last one to come in and just the sight of her left him in tears. 

"Mama." His voice cracked as he wiped at his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I shou-"

"Shhh, Aki. We'll talk when we get home. Here, put your coat on." She said softly, helping him with his heavy coat and slipping his backpack on to her shoulder. He couldn't even look at her. 

The bus ride home was filled with a silence that Akira could  _ feel _ . He wanted his mother to say something, yell at him, anything, but she only put an arm around his shoulders like she had that morning. When they arrived home, she hung up their coats and said she was going to change clothes and that he should too. Akira trudged down the hallway into his bedroom and removed his school uniform, laying it neatly on his bed before changing into comfier clothes. He was just putting his uniform jacket on its hanger when she joined him, sitting on the edge of his bed. 

"Akira, I'm not angry at you." She started. "You know fighting with those other kids was wrong; I don't need to lecture you for that."

"Am I going to have to find a new school?" He asked, fidgeting with his fingers. 

His mother smiled, patting the bed next to her so he'd come and sit down. "Of course not. I do have to keep you home from school tomorrow but that was my choice, not the principals. We'll go down to the clinic and make sure you're not hurt any worse than the nurse could tell. I've already talked to my boss and I'm not in trouble either, so don't you worry about that, okay?"

Akira nodded. "I did know it was wrong to get in a fight...but I didn't know what else to do when those kids started picking on Kouyou. They hurt him Mama, and I couldn't just watch it happen."

"And that's why I'm not mad. I'm proud of you for sticking up for that boy Aki, but next time, let's get an adult involved, okay? You can't be starting fights for any reason. Your principal told me that he'd talked to the other parents about what's been going on with this Kouyou and he seems very serious about protecting him. He told me Kouyou is a good boy just like you are, but he doesn't have any friends at school-"

"I'm going to be his friend Mama. He needs me to look after him."

Once again she was smiling and it made Akira feel that pride in his chest again. "Well, I'm glad he has a friend now. One that will take good care of him. But no more fights! Got it?" She teased, ruffling his hair. 

Akira was grinning. "No fights!"

"That's my little man. Also, while we were at the school I spoke to Kouyou's mom about getting together this weekend. She and Kouyou are coming over Saturday afternoon so you two can play together and I can get to know his parents too. How does that sound?"

"I can't wait! I gotta get my room clean!"

"Akira! It's still five days from now! Be careful of your hand you crazy boy."

________________________

When he got to school two days later, his mom dropped him off a bit early so Akira sat down at one of the picnic tables out in front of the school. He’d spent the day before trying to draw the guitars he’d seen Kouyou doodling, but with a busted finger on his right hand, things weren’t going so smoothly. He had drawn a bunch of little birds though that he was quite proud of. After a while, he was so caught up in his doodles that he was shocked when hands covered his eyes from behind.

“Guess who?!”

Akira felt himself grinning at the sound of that abnormally deep voice. “Hmm...that quacking sounds familiar…” 

Kouyou popped him on the back of the head, but his arms found their way around his neck. The taller boy was clingy, but Akira found he didn’t really mind. “I’m so happy you came back to school. I was afraid that they had moved you somewhere else.” 

“Nope. I’m not going anywhere. I had to go to the clinic yesterday and get my hand and arm checked out, but I’m fine. Did everything go okay without me here yesterday?”

“I guess. No one picked on me and there’s a new teacher that is watching at recess now. Mainly watching Yuuta and his friends. But I was lonely again without you here.” Kouyou confessed, his chin resting atop Akira’s head. “Oh! I almost forgot. I made you something yesterday!”

Akira turned around on the bench once Kouyou let him go and watched the other boy dig through his backpack. After some scrounging, he brought out two woven friendship bracelets made of rainbow colored string. 

“I’m sorry about the girly colors. I had to borrow strings from my older sister. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to take it.” He muttered, sounding disappointed in himself suddenly. Akira didn’t care. Colors were colors. He took one of the bracelets from Kouyou’s hand and slipped it over his hand before using his teeth to hold one end and tie it on. Now he’d have to cut it off to be rid of it. 

“Can I help you put yours on?” He asked and Kouyou was all smiles again as he nodded. “Thank you for making me something so special Kou. I’m gonna wear it forever.”

“Because we’re gonna be friends forever, right?”

Akira nodded. “Best friends, for life.”


End file.
